Faq – Help About Chopper Motorcycle Manufacturers
Lizzie asks…
Why aren’t there more American motorcycle manufacturers?
The U.S. has Harley Davidson and Victory who basically make expensive cruisers and a bunch of custom chopper makers. Buell is the only attempt that the U.S. makes a sportbike which doesn’t come close to the amount of Japanese and European competition.
There isn’t even an American dirtbike company. There is really no beginner 250cc American motorcycle. The HD Sportster 883 is as close to a beginner bike as it gets.
So why can’t America be more competitive with making motorcycles of all kinds like they do with cars?
Is it that there is little business interest here in the U.S. or are they just not that smart to engineer their own bikes here other than heavy cruisers? Are they too afraid to copy Japanese models of motorcycles and sell them at a similar price? Even if they did, at least they would be American made and America would have more American motorcycles for buyers to choose from.
Yep, our American Unions which supposed to save American jobs prevent so many American companies from opening because of high demand in salary. They can pretty much shut their Union mouths when we buy Japanese and Chinese products…huh?
Chopper Motorcycle Staff answers:
The U.S. Is a huge country with a lot of open road. Big countries with wide open spaces call for big bikes. If we were the size of Japan we would make Jap size bikes. Somebody has to be top dog and we (like it or not) are it. We make big, fast, long lasting bikes. It fits our country. Kinda like why do Eskimos drive sled dogs. You wanna cover some ground get a Harley. Same reason we build big cars. Big trucks. Big buildings. Big jock straps. Big Space shuttles. Big H – bombs. We are big compared to them. Top Dog. The reason Japan even has an industrial base is because after WWII we gave them our expertise, free loans etc. And we built their factories for them so they would become what they are today. We wanted them to be what we have now made them. That was our right and it’s what we did. You gotta remember, they surrendered unconditionally. We could have put them all on a reservation in the Sahara desert and homesteaded Japan if we wanted to. We paid for that right with blood. You have the right to ride a Harley – paid with blood
James asks…
how do i become a motorcycle manufacturer?
I build choppers, but heard that the laws are changing. Do you have to be a manufacturer to build bikes.
Chopper Motorcycle Staff answers:
Contact your State DMV they will have the forms to fill out depending on the volume of bikes you plan to build. I would say if you build more than 10 bikes a year you may want to become your own licenced builder. Thats going to take a business licence and a few certifications depending on your state. Good luck hope this helps.
Betty asks…
I have a idea that will revolutionize the motorcycle industry , how do I propose it to manufacturer?
I offered it to Orange County Choppers .com they did not acknowledge, much less call Me!
Chopper Motorcycle Staff answers:
Writing this from UK, but dealers are the same everywhere I suppose. If it’s a good idea, register it first. It doesn’t cost that much to patent an idea here, considering what the returns might be. Don’t know about the US or Canada, but suspect it might be more expensive. My ex-wife’s grandfather patented a special rifling technique (at BSA, which was a gun manufacturer as well as a motorcycle manufacturer – BSA stands for British Small Arms)in about 1925. The royalties kept him for his whole life,and the technique is still used today (patent run out though). So if you can convince someone to go with it, good luck. But draw up an agreement first, and withhold key details until you are sure you have got the money to go ahead. Plenty of intelligent people have been shafted by grabbers. Good luck.
Courtesy of Y!Answers
